Method of making shoes



@et 9, w34 A. F. PYM ET AL METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed April 5, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l' 0d. 9, 1934. A, F PYM Er AL 1,976,036

METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed April 5. 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 @et 9, 1934. A. F. PYM Ei' AL E@ METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed April 5, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 VEN TUA/5 Oct. 9, 1934. A. F, PYM Er AL METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed April 5, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 9, 1934 STATES PA'rs METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Application April 5, 193.2, Serial No. 603,273

11 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of making shoes and has for an object the production of shoes of Uniform and high quality with substantial economies as compared with the usual shoemaking methods. A further object of the invention is to eliminate the need of any high degree of judgment, skill or care on the part of the worksuch as are required for the usual pullingover and lasting operations.

in one aspect the invention provides an improvement in certain particulars in a method of the general nature disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,706,504, granted March 26, 1929, Warren. As therein disclosed, first the l5 toe part and then the heel part of the upper were separately shaped over metal forms or molds and thereafter, the upper having been removed from the metal forms, it was mounted on a separable, two-part last which was extended to stretch the upper longitudinally.

According to the present invention, as distinguished from the above procedure, the toe part of upper is Worked or shaped over the forepart of a separable last while the forepart of the last is unattached to its heel part. After this toe shaping or lasting operation, the heel part of the last is inserted in the upper and brought into its normal relation to the forepart of the last. Thereafter, as herein illustrated, the heel 30. part of the upper is lasted over the heel part of 'do outsole stitching o erations. The upper therefore takes a permanent shape or set corresponding exactly to the last and there is no danger that either end of the upper will lose its shape or become distorted after it has once been shaped.

In the practice cf the invention, as herein described and illustrated in the making of a welt shoe, the toe part of the upper is worked inwardly over the feather of the insole mounted on the forepart of the last and into the angle between the feather and the rib of the insole and it may be secured in lasted position by any known or suitable means, the means herein illustrated comprising a flexible binder extending round the toe in the said angle and held in place by tacks.

While the further steps in the manufacture of the shoe after the insertion of the heel part of the last may be performed in any known or desired manner, the method herein illustrated includes progressively lasting the upper at the two v sides of the shoe simultaneously, shaping the heel part of the upper over the heel part of the last and securing the upper both at the sides and at the heel in such lasted position.

The general nature and purpose of the invention having been thus indicated, it will now be 55 described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate various steps performed in carrying out the method according to one mode of procedure, and will thereafter be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective illustrating the step of assembling the upper with a ribbed insole and securing these parts together at their heel ends only;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the said parts after the forepart only of a last has been inserted within the upper after the insole has been tacked thereto;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross section cf the forepart of the last, the upper and the insole, together with certain parts of a machine which may be employed for lasting the toe part of the upper over the feather of the insole and into the angle between the feather and the rib and securing said toe part in lasted position;

Fig. 4 is a View similar. to Fig. 2 at that stage in the procedure immediately following that illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal elevation, partly in section, of the shoe and last at the stage when the heel part of the last is being inserted;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the shoe, part of which is shown broken away, after the heel part of the last has been forced fully into its normal relation in alinement with the forepart and locked in such relation;

Fig. 7 is a similar View of the shoe after the side lasting has been performed;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the shoe after the heel seat lasting has been performed, and

Fig. 9 is a similar view of the shoe after the toe binder and also the tacks in the vicinity of the tip line and along the sides have been removed preparatory to the welting operation.

The method herein described is illustrated as employed in the manufacture of a Goodyear welt shoe but the invention is by no means limited in its application to shoes of that particular type.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an insole l0 having a feather 12 and a rib or lip 14 is secured, as by tacks 16, at its heel end to the heel end of an upper, indicated generally at 18, which will usually comprise, besides the leather or other upper proper, a lining 20, a counter 22 and a box toe 24. The insole 10 and upper 18 may be assembled and tacked together by the aid of any suitable apparatus such, for example, as assembling machines of the type disclosed in either of the Knowlton Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,541,823, granted June 16, 1925 (Fig. l5) or No. 1,602,818, granted October 12, 1926 (Fig. 5) or such as a molding machine of the general character hereinbefore referred to, for example, that disclosed in Letters "Patent No. 1,700,970, Baxter, granted February 5, 1929.

As illustrated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings of the present application, the insole is provided with two jig holes 30 which correspond in size and in location to jig pins 32 projecting from a metallic form or support 34. By placing the holes 30 of the insole over the pins 32, the insole is jigged or located accurately with respect to the form 34 which may correspond generally to the form 54 of said Letters Patent No. 1,700,970 or may be mounted on a jack post or work support, such as is disclosed in the said Knowlton patents. The upper having been assembled in the appropriate relation to the insole with the margin of the counter and the margin of the upper at the rear of the shoe laid over upon the insole, the tacks 16 are driven through the iiange of the upper or through the counter, or both, and through the insole and their points-clinched on the form 34.

The unit consisting of the upper tacked to the insole is now lifted from the form 34 and assembled with the forepart only of a separable, multipart last designated generally as 36, which conveniently may be of the type fully disclosed in Letters Patent oi the United States No. 1,856,127, granted May 3, 1932, Cross, of which the more important elements are shown in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings. The forepart 38 is divided from the heel part 40 along substantially a plane 42 which is inclined forwardly and upwardly when the last is in normal upright position, but upwardly and backwardly when the last is inverted as shown in Fig. 5. However, there is a narrow V-shaped gap 43 at the top of the last indicated particularly in Fig. 6, so that, even while the two parts of the last are in contact along plane 42, they may be turned relatively to each other about a horizontal axis extending from side to side of the last to facilitate assembling and disassembling the two parts, as will be further explained. A plate 44 (Fig. 5) is let into the rear secant face of the forepart 38 and secured thereto, as by screws, and another plate 46 is let into the front secant face of the heel part 40 and secured thereto. The plate 44 has a slot 48 into which may be slid the body portion of a screw 50 so that the under side of the head of the screw will bear against the plate 44 at either side of the slot 48. The plate 44 is provided also with a circular hole 52 adapted to fit a boss 54 formed on the plate 46.

In assembling the forepart 38 with the heel part 40, these parts are brought into a relative position such as is indicated in Fig. 5 and then forced into normal relation or alinement, when the screw 50 will interlock with the slot 48 or" the plate 44 and the boss 54 will register with and snap into the hole 52, whereupon the two parts of the last will be locked firmly in this position by a spring-pressed latch 56 movable Ain the heel part 40 and extending forwardly beyond the plane 42. This latch has a hook 58 near its forward end which snaps over a shoulder 60 on the plate 44. The locating and locking elements just described lock the forepart and heel parttogether in their normal predetermined relation in alinement, as shown in Fig. 6.

As already pointed out, a characteristic of the present invention is that the toe part of the upper is shaped over the forepart 38, only, of the last while it is unattached to its heel part 40, as distinguished from a complete last or a metal form. Hence, after the upper 18 and insole 10 have been tacked together as shown in Fig. 1, the forepart of the last is assembled therewith, its bottorn being laid against the inner face of the insole with the edge or the last registering with the edge of the insole, whereupon the insole is fastened temporarily to the bottom oi the last, as by tacks 64 and the box toe 24 is heated to soften it.

While the toe shaping, molding or lasting operation may be performed by the aid of various shaping tools or machines, preferably a machine of the type fully disclosed in co-pending application Serial No. 602,480, filed April 1, 1932, Holmgren, is employed for the purpose. Briefly, this machine, parts of which are illustrated in Fig. 3, includes a jack or support for the last having bonding elements similar to those, 50, 54, 58, on the heel part 40 of the last s0 that the complemental bonding ele ^lents 44, 52, 60 on the forepart 38 may be interlocked with those on the jack and so that the forepart will be iirmly supported in denite relation to those parts cr the machine which work the upper over the iorepart and wipe it into the angle between the feather 12 and the lip 14 or" the insole. These parts include toe embracing wipers 66 having at their shoe upper engaging edge a slot 68 in which a metallic toe binder 70 is laid before the machine is started. Clamps (not shown herein) hold the margin of the shoe upper against the upper faces of the wipers. A vertically movable plate 72 has a downturned iiaring rim 74 curved similarly to the lip of the insole round the toe and arranged to engage the insole at the inner side of the lip for supporting the lip against the inward pressure of the wipers 66 when the latter wipe the margin of the upper inwardly against the lip. Other parts of the machine include a vertically movable toe rest 76, movable grippers including jaws 78, 80, a movable toe embracing band 82 and three tackers, one of which is shown in Fig. 3 and comprises a plate 84 provided with a guideway for a tack driver 86, a pair of tack-holding fingers 88 located in the guideway, controlled by spring plates 90 and being yieldable to permit the iingers to separate in the tack driving operation. Suitable mechanisms are provided for operating these parts in predetermined sequence, all as fully disclosed in the said Holmgren application.

For presenting the unit comprising the forepart of the last, the upper and the insole to the said toe lasting or shaping machine, there is preferably employed a tool, called a presenter or tongs, which has two upstanding jig pins to enter corresponding jig holes 92 in the upper. Also, as fully explained in the said Holmgren application, the workman mounts this unit in the toe lasting machine by securing the forepart of the last to the machine jack, utilizing the complemental bonding elements, already referred to, and then slides the jack into co-operative relation with the wipers 66, the clamps and the gripper jaws 78, 80 of the machine, the jig pins on the presenter entering corresponding slots in the wipers and in a movable positioning plate 93 (Fig. 3) and thus positioning the upper accurately relative to the upper shaping elements. The margin of the upper is spread out approximately in a horizontal plane over the top faces of the wipers and over the lower gripper jaws 78. With the parts in these positions the machine is started, the outspread margin of the upper being gripped around the toe by the clamps against the wipers 66 and being gripped in the rear of these clamps at opposite points adjacent the tip line by jaws 78, 80 whereupon the last with the toe rest 76 is forced downwardly into the toe band 82 through movement imparted to plate 72 and the upper is wiped inwardly over the feather 12 of the insole and laid, with its margin upstanding, into the angle between the feather and the rib 14 of the insole, the binder 70, which may be of aluminum, being forced by the wipers well into the inner vertex of that angle. Tacks 94 are driven by driver 86 through notches in the wipers, through the fiat ends of the binder, and through the ,upper materials and insole and into the last adjacent to the tip nline at each side of the shoe. Preferably also tacks, one of which is indicated at 96, are driven into the last just at the rear of the binder, all as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. By this operation the toe of the upper is drawn tightly over and about the toe of the last and then held securely in lasted position by the binder and the tacks 94, 96.

The lasting of the toe having thus been coinpleted, the shoe is removed from the lasting inachine and the heel part 40 of the last is then forced into the heel part of the upper with its bottoni against the insole and into its normal relation in alinement with the forepart 38. This operation may be performed by the aid of any suitable apparatus and preferably by a machine or" the general type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,891,263, granted December 20, 1932, Holmgren. The heel part 40 is placed. within the upper and against the forepart 38, as shown in Fig. 5, and then with the heel part supported on a jack 95 having a spindle 97 to enter the thimble hole in the heel part, the forepart is forced into alinement with the heel part. The complemental bonding elements 50, 54, 58, on the heel part interlock with those, 44, 52, 50, on the forepart so that thetwo parts of the last are firmly locked together in normal relation in alinement, as already described. The forcing of the parts of the last into this relation causes a substantial increase in the over-all length of the last, as a whole, and thereby stretches the upper longitudinally, drawmg it toward and about the last in a manner comparable with that performed in the ordinary manufacture of shoes by a pulling-over machine.

The next step in the manufacture of the shoe will preferably be the side lasting operation, that is, the drawing of the upper to the last on both sides from approximately the breast line forwardly to a point just in the rear of the tacks 96. For carrying out this operation, a duplex lasting machine of the type fully disclosed in a co-pendin,FJ application Serial No. 601,082, led March 25, 1932, Lawson, may conveniently be employed. This machine includes a jack, wipers, grippers and staple and tack inserting mechanisms, which operate on the two sides of the shoe simultaneously and progressively from the heel breast line forwardly and. insert both tacks 9S and staples 100. These staples are inserted through the upper materials and the rib 14, being clinched cn the inner face of the rib and remaining permanently in the shoe. The tacks 98 are driven substantially in the angle between the feather and rib and into the last but are left projecting since they are removed after the upper has set in its lasted position.

Next, the heel part of the upper is lasted over the heel part of the insole and secured in such lasted position (Fig. 8). For this operation various apparatus or machines may be employed but it is preferred to use a machine such as is fully disclosed in a co-pending application Serial No. 603,050, filed April 4, 1932, Holmgren. This machine comprises a jack, having a spindle to engage the thimble hole in the heel part 40 of the last, a heel embracing band made up of relatively movable sections and two wipers pivoted together at their rear ends. The jack is moved upwardly and yieldingly against a gage and then the heel band is closed about the counter portion of the shoe to shape it to the iast after which the wipers are moved inwardly preferably in repeated movements, to wipe the margin of the upper over the insole after which the tacks 102 are driven to hold this por-Lion of the upper securely and permanently in lasted position. then in the condition illustrated in Fig. 8.

The surplus upper materials particulrrly at the toe are then away and the hinder 70 and tacks 94, 96 are removed as illustrated in Fig 9, after which the welt attaching operation may be performed by the aid of any usual or suitable welt sewing machine and the shoe be completed in the usual or any suitable manner.

Having thus described our invention, what 'we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in providing a separable, twopart last in which i' ive movement of the parts into normal relation Lncreases the over-all length of the last, .securing an upper, including a counter and a box toe, and a ribbed insole together adjacent to their heel ends only, fastening the insole to the bottoni of the forepart of the last, placing said forepart, while it is unattached to its heel part, within the upper and working the toe part of the upper over said iol el rt inwardly over the feather of the insole with the marginal portion of the upper lying against the outside of the rib of the insole, securing the toe of the upper to the insole such lasted position by means of fastenings including a n "mie binder extending round the toe in the angle between said feather rib, then forcing the heel part of the last into the upper and against the insole and securing it in its normal relation to said forepart, thereby stretching the upper longitudinally and drawing it toward and about the last, progressively lastthe upper at the two sides of the shoe simultaneously and securing it in lasted position, working the heel part of the upper over the heel part of the last and securing it in lasted position, and then performing other operations necessary to complete the making of the shoe.

2. That roi/ement methods of making shoes which consists in securing an upper and a ribbed insole together adjacent to their heel ends only, fastening the insole to the bottom of the fcrepart of a multi-part last while it is unattached to its heel part, placing said forepart withis l lli)

'10 y and drawing it about the last, and then pleting the lasting and performing other pne essary to complete the making of That reprovement in methods of making slices which consists in securing an upper and an insole together adjacent to their heel ends only, fastening the insole to the bottom of the forepart 7 part last, placing said forepart and working the toe part of the i'orepart and inwardly over the 'nsole and securing it to the insole nos' ion, then forcing the heel part of `the upper and against the insole and g it in its normal relation to said forepart,

ey stretching the upper longitudinally, and

en completing the lasting and performing other o Arations ne-cess :y to complete the making of s which consists in securing an upper and an insole together adjacent to their heel ends only, the sole to the bottom of the forepart only ci a multi-part last, placing said forepart wit-inn the upper and shaping the toe part of the upper over said forepart and securing it to the insole in lasted position, then forcing the heel part oi the last into the upper against the insole and into its no1 relation to said iorepart, thereby stretching the upper longitudinally.

5. That improvement in methods of making 'c includes securing an upper to an inlr 'neel ends, shaping the toe part of ^r over the orepart only of a multi-part last w e the orepart is unattached to its heel t and securing the upper in lasted position to the irs-ole, and then forcing the heel part of sho the last i to upper and against the insole.

6. The' iproveinent in methods of making slice includes providing a separable, twowhich the adjacent end faces of the ace of the iorepart. oveinent in methods of making .Eudes assembling an upper and -za-ping the toe part of the upper over fore only of a multi-part last while to s it is unattached it heel part and securing it in lasting position by means of astenings including a iiexible binder extending round the toe in the angle between the insole feather and the rib, and then forcing the heel part ci the last into the upper and against the insole, thereby stretching the upper longitudinally.

8. That improvement in methods of making shoes which includes providing a separable, twopart last in which relative movement of the parts into normal relation increases the over-all length of the last, securing an upper to an insole at their heel ends, shaping the toe part of the upper over the iorepart of the last while it is unattached to its heel part and securing it in lasted position, then forcing the heel part of the last into the upper, thereby stretching the upper longitudinally.

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes which includes providing a separable, twopart last in which the plane of separation between the orepart and heelpart is inclined upwardly and forwardly, assembling and securing together an upper and an insole, shaping the toe part of the upper over the forepart of the last while it is unattached to its heel part and securing it in lasted position, then forcing the 'neel part of the last into the upper and against the insole by sliding the heel part over the iorepart generally along said plane, thereby stretching the upper longitudinally.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which includes providing a last comprising a orepart and a separable heel part between which the plane of separation is inclined upwardly and forwardly and in which relative movement of the parts from a position out of alinernent into a position of alinernent increases the over-all length of the last and which last includes means for locking the two parts in such alinement, assembling an upper and an insole, fastening the insole to the bottom or" the forepart of the last jA while it is unattached to its heel part, shaping the toe part of the upper over said orepart and securing it in lasted position, then forcing the heel part into the upper, against the insole and into its position of alinernent with said iorepart and locking it in such relation.

1l. That improvement in methods of making shoes which includes providing a separable, twopart last in which relative movement of the parts into normal relation increases the over-al1 length of the last and which last includes means i or lool:- ing the two parts in such relation, assembling an upper and a ribbed insole upon the forepart of the last while it is unattached to its heel part,

working the toe part of the upper over said forepart and into the angle between the insole feather' and rib and securing it in lasted position by iastening means including a hinder extending round the toe in said angle, then forcing the neel part into the upper, against the insole and into its ncrznal relation to said forepart and locking it in such relation.

ARTHUR F. PYM.

AUGUST R. SCHOENKY.

EGO 

